Should Students be Allowed to Wear Make-Up in School?

A debate which the education system has suffered for years: should students be allowed to wear makeup in school? I say students, not girls, because it’s the 21st century, and quite frankly, boys, or any other gender a person may identify with, can wear makeup too. It could be said that the debate itself is completely preposterous, as education and whether an individual wears makeup or not, do not correlate. However, it could also very easily be argued that wearing or not wearing makeup can lead to other issues such as bullying and then have a knock on affect an individual’s education.

Allow me first to consider the idea that makeup should not be allowed in schools. The immediate suggestion would be that bullying may occur as a result of wearing makeup, or not wearing it if the majority do so. The ideology is that, by a school making a rule where no individual can wear makeup, everybody looks the same. Through this, students are blurred as a group in uniform to reduce differences and therefore things to pick on. Having said that, such a rule may result in insecurities in a student. If an individual with acne, for example, wants to cover up their skin and they can’t, this may lead to severe self-confidence issues.

The ideology is that, by a school making a rule where no individual can wear makeup, everybody looks the same.

Bearing in mind the fact that mental health problems, especially amongst teenagers, are increasing day by day, the right to wear makeup shouldn’t be taken away from a student. Wearing makeup in such circumstances can therefore be seen as a confidence booster, allowing an individual to feel good about themselves. Furthermore, individuality is important as you go through the teenage years. Who wants to simply ‘blur into one?’ Expressing yourself how you desire, whether this be through makeup, piercings, hair colour or tattoos, is key to the development of personality. So, to take away the option of expressing yourself through makeup is the wrong way to go.

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On the contrary, it could be said that school is no beauty pageant so it is not the place to express yourself. Who cares what you look like? Students who want to wear makeup can save it for when they’re at home, where they can paint their faces to their hearts’ content. The focus of school should be education and not how you look. It may be the best thing to have a no makeup rule in schools but then again, wearing makeup has no affect on anyone else. A 10-minute makeup routine in the morning before school isn’t going to affect anyone’s education, but if a student starts to do their makeup in class, it lies with the teacher to intervene, as they would if a student was on their mobile phone. Students should be allowed make their own choices – isn’t that part of a learning process too?

The debate could last all day, but ultimately I see the debate as somewhat absurd – who cares if a student does or doesn’t want to wear makeup? The choice shouldn’t be taken away from them. Whatever reason they want to wear makeup, and how they want to wear it, should be left completely up to them and no-one ought to say a word about it.